How I Met My Male Best Friend

By Ashrita Kotre

It was my last year of under graduation. I was like “finally! One last year and I have my degree and I can explore more after this”. But, I didn’t know what was waiting for me!

I made friends during my first year. Second year was COVID and I had no friends. So, final year and I was not excited. With all the pandemic stuff, I just wanted a degree and that’s it.

So I went to the college and during the first class, our HOD comes and immediately points her finger on me, like as if I was guilty of something that I’m not aware of. The whole class, looking at me and I was speechless. She says, “You! Get up!” I stood up and she said, “There is a management fest tomorrow and I want you to participate in fruit carving competition”. She didn’t even ask my opinion and registered my name. First of all, I don’t know how to cut a fruit and do art on it, and secondly, when I saw the names in the team, all were from another department with whom I hardly had a conversation with.

First day of the event. Not so excited as I had no idea what to do. All I see around me is a bunch of people just talking stuff about their department and I was looking like a fool between them. Then, I see a guy running towards me. He looked familiar, like I knew him from a long time. He stopped in front of me, and greeted everyone from my team. Then, he looked at me, smiled at me and said, “Hi there! Nice to meet you after so long time”. He had one of the purest smiles on his face. I then realized, he was my classmate from my first year. I was like finally! There is a person from my department. We knew each other, but didn’t talk much. We started our first conversations in the event. He was friends with my other teammates. He knew I was not comfortable with them, and he made sure I’m comfortable around them. Thanks to him, I mixed along with my teammates and as a result, we had a lot of fun. Throughout the event, he was with me all the time. That gave me confidence to perform well in the competition. We talked, laughed and had a great time together. We won the fest, and it was late at night. I kept getting calls from my parents. It was raining that day and I didn’t bring my motorcycle. He came to me and said, “Let me drop you to your house”. I said, “But it’s raining and I have a lot of things to carry home. How are we going to do this?” He just smiled at me, grabbed my hand and said, “Do you trust me?” I said yes without even thinking for a second. It was raining heavily and I had no option but to reach home fast. I sat on the motorcycle and he dropped me to my house safely. We had so fun while riding the motorcycle in the rain. It was a memorable two days and a start to a new friendship.

II] The beginning stage

It was sports week. He was the sports minister of the college and he had the responsibility of conducting this year’s sports event. I have to tell this, he is a boy with multiple abilities. He’s an athlete, a footballer, a dancer, a leader and he was also the Mr. Fresher of our batch. So, basically he was a “Chalta phirta SUPERSTAR!” I didn’t take part in outdoor sports. I just went there to cheer him. It was going to be my first time watching him plays football. He literally participated in all sports; football, volleyball, throw ball, cricket. In these four days of sports event, we spent a lot of time together, had fun and had a lot of conversations and got to know more about each other. My mother had come one day to the event and she invited my friends for a treat at our place. In the middle of all this, I realized that he was my first male friend.

We started to talk every day, either on call or through texts. Wherever I go, he used to be by my side and vice-versa. We had a group of 5-6 friends and we all used to hangout together everywhere. He was always respected by all his classmates, juniors and even the staff of the college. He was being included in all the events and activities of the college. He had a good reputation and everyone loved him for his personality and the way he used to carry it. Some juniors would even ask him for any suggestions and he used to always guide them in the right direction. I observed all this, and was proud that he is my friend.

III] The Bond

It was that time of the year where our college started the preparation to conduct the national level management fest. We were all assigned for different work. I and all my friends were team leaders of different groups. He was the team leader of literally, every activity of the event! He was in the management group, dance group, and what more. We all got busy in our own work. He was usually more into the dance group and all the external work of the event while I was into the management and all the internal work. But we made sure that we keep contact with each other, no matter if he’s on the fifth floor or I’m on the ground floor.

As we all were super busy, we only had time to talk during the breaks. There was this one day which I have to mention here. I was being called for help by the students of the other department. I was working with them in the computer lab and suddenly, he came to me and said, “Come let’s go!” I asked him “where?” he grabbed my hand and said, “Just come with me”. I said that I have to work now, I can’t come with you. He then said, “Sir has called me to the NSS camp, and I want you to come with me”. I replied, “Sir has called you to come, not me! So why should I come with you? You go there by yourself!” After hearing this, he got offended by me and looked at me with anger and said, “Ok fine, do whatever you want”, and then went back. After he left, I realized that how stupid I was to tell those words in front of others. I knew he was disappointed after hearing this. I left all the work behind and ran towards him. He was about to leave and I rushed to him and grabbed his hands and asked him to forgive me. That was the first time I came across his anger. He said, “look you’re my friend and I want you to come with me, and I don’t want you to talk to me in front of others like you did back there” I then realized something. When you have a male friend, they are always protective about you. They trust you, talk to you freely and treat you as their own family. This is the beauty of the friendship between a boy and a girl; the most beautiful and underrated bond ever. Some may understand it, and some don’t. I felt lucky that I’ve made the most special bond with him. He always knew what was right for me and what was not. He used to motivate me when I needed it and I used to encourage him during his dance rehearsals. We were just perfect friends for each other. He was the first person to see me cry, the first person to cheer me up, and the first person to always understand me. He was and is and will always be the best guy best friend I will ever have in my whole life. The event went great and our department had achieved success. We all were happy and tired at the same time. But it was worth with great effort and fun working like a team. We both were officially best friends!

The after event effects on me was not so great. I fell ill the next day. I had to rest for one whole week. He got worried for me. He used to call me and check on me if I’m well and if I need anything. He made sure that I don’t feel lonely. He came to visit me at my house, talked to me on call every day. We became so close to each other that we started sharing our secrets to each other. When he used to feel low, he asked for my advice and vice-versa. My mother used to support him over me! Can you believe that! She trusted him more than me. She used to let me hangout only if he is joining me. It’s obvious that he became my mother’s favorite and obedient child.

IV] My Best Friend

They say when boys get angry and lose their temper; they turn into a different person. But he was always the same person. When he gets angry, he just sits quiet and doesn’t say a word, until he makes sure he calms down. On the other hand, when I’m angry, I can’t control myself. I do stupid things and he used to cover up. It was perfectly balanced between us. But they always say, “beware of the evil eyes!”

There were ups and downs in our friendship. A third person situation came between us. We fought, argued and did silly things against each other without even confronting each other and understanding the matter. We didn’t speak for a month! My mother realized that we both are not happy without each other and asked us both to solve the problem between us. We talked, solved our misunderstandings and decided that no matter how big the matter is, we will sit and talk through it and come up with a solution together. We both realized that the more we fought with each other, the bond between us got stronger. We made sure that no third person can destroy our bond.

He has this ability to predict things. He knows what is good and what is bad for me. He made sure I was surrounded by good people. There were many silly rumors about us and we didn’t care about any. We were just happy in our own world. He’s a great footballer, a great dancer and the sweetest and humble person I have ever met in my whole life. And the most important one, “HE WAS, IS AND WILL ALWAYS BE MY BEST FRIEND!”

So, this is how I met my male best friend and I am pretty sure and confident, we will have more memories to share with each other. We met each other coincidentally and now share the strongest bond with each other. I’m a lucky girl!

By Ashrita Kotre